rAge still going strong! rAge Expo 2018 Recap

The 2018 rAge Expo still going strong!

rAge Expo 2018 saw 34,002 people pass through the doors of the Ticketpro Dome to witness not only the best games of 2018 but feasted their eyes on some amazing cosplay, and only the freshest geek memorabilia. Most importantly, rAge 2018 was testament to the fact that gaming, cosplay and tech are at the heart of a well-loved and ever-growing culture in South Africa. The data consumption was extraordinary with the expo recording a whopping 120TB in downloads and 15Tb in uploads, all possible thanks to MWeb who provided an 8Gbps line at the Expo.

“The floor plan was dramatically changed to allow for more breathing room. TheLANwas repositioned, and by all accounts this went down well with our dedicated gamers and fans. We hosted a few large-scale casual esports tournaments that saw permanent queues the entire weekend, as well as some very happy winners,” commented Michael James, Senior Project Manager and owner of rAge.

“While figures were down slightly, this is something we anticipated as a result of new market entries such as Comic-Con playing in the same space so close to our dates. Everything considered though, the impact on rAge was negligible,” concludes James.

The rAge Expo is a place where people can come together and celebrate their mutual love of virtual adventure and outlandish fantasy, of worlds beyond our own that we’d otherwise never get the chance to experience. This is a community that celebrates its geekiness, and rAge is proud to provide a place for everyone to share in the revelry. One of the best examples would be the scenario that unfolded at the GES Cosplay Skit Show, when Maoukami Cosplay proposed on stage to Chiaki Riku, to raucous cheers from the crowd! See below our coverage of the GES Cosplay Parade, 2018 sure had absolutely stunning costumes on display!

There were more than 30 new and pre-released games on show between the numerous stands, with many retailers reported being out of stock on the first day and having to restock for the rest of the weekend. And that’s despite the fact that we’re technically in a recession.

The PlayStation stand was always buzzing with all the FIFA 19 action they had to offer. Over 1,200 players registered to compete in The PlayStation Cup , and the winners walked away with some amazing prizes. PlayStation really took things to new heights with their stand for Marvel’s Spider-Man, which was designed to resemble New York’s iconic skyline as seen below 🙂

Xbox brought their A-game, with an astounding 98 Xboxes on their stand for visitors to play on, showing off titles like the brand-new Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Forza Horizon 4, alongside many others. Assassin’s Creed, in particular, proved immensely popular with visitors. Xbox’s Fortnite Festival saw an overwhelming 1,845 visitors competing over the course of three days with various participants getting enough Victory Royales to obtain some insane prizes!

Another highlight for the weekend was the home-coded stand, where local developers showcased their games to the public, some for the very first time. South African developer Robot Wizard’s Boet Fighter, was shown off to many eager boitjies and binnets at its demo launch. The game is a tongue-in-cheek reflection of the urban nightlife of Jo’burg, and in the words of the developers, gamers came to “klap those buttons like an MMA boet attacking a bus”. It’s a fantastic confirmation of South Africa’s ability to develop software that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with international titles. The Table Realms app which too was developed locally is a platform via which you can play games on any device and turn your phone into a console, the app trended at number 1 on the Google Play store over the weekend thanks in part to one of the most dedicated gamers we know Samplayze!

Also at this year’s rAge Expo we saw Bravado Gaming and NAG partnered up on unifying esports for South Africans in a joint collaboration, NAG and Bravado Gaming ran an esports activation at rAge titled “Bring the Bravado”, with three days of scheduled talks that was open to anyone and everyone , which included the likes of Chani ZA, Lithium, BVDCent, Tech Girl, Anthrax, GeeMax and so many more and was a great success.

Our Interview with the gents at Boet Fighter & Table Realms will be out this weekend, stay tuned!

NAG has confirmed that the 2019 rAge Expo will take place on 27-29 September 2018.

We pride ourselves in covering all types of games, events, and tournaments in South Africa, as well as any international tournaments and events that warrant our coverage and that, is beneficial for our viewers. We work with various companies including, Alienware, Mettlestate, Asus, Cougar Gaming and many other organisations looking to create a more inclusive gaming scene.